Chicago Should Soon Have a New Inspector General

Deborah Witzburg, who has served as the Chicago Inspector General for the last four years, will be leaving her office upon the expiration of her term on April 26. The process for selecting a replacement was amended in July 2023 in order to provide clear deadlines so that a new Inspector General would be in place by then or shortly thereafter, explained Ald. Matt Martin, Chair of the Council’s Ethics and Government Oversight Committee, at a meeting of that Committee on March 16. Per that ordinance, late last year, the mayor appointed three people to a Selection Committee and the Ethics Committee Chair appointed two people, none of whom are alders.  The Selection Committee, in turn, hired a national search firm that was to identify ten candidates, whom the Selection Committee is to review and interview.

Ald. Martin said that the Selection Committee is expected to provide the mayor with one or more recommendations from that list of ten candidates on or about April 12. The Mayor then has up to 30 days (until approximately May 12) to either submit to the Ethics Committee a recommended candidate or explain why he is rejecting the recommendation. If the Mayor opts to send a proposed appointment to the Ethics Committee, that Committee will hold a hearing and vote whether to recommend approval by the full City Council at its next meeting. So, assuming such approval, a new Inspector General could be in place as soon as May, or more likely, June.

In the interim, under the Inspector General ordinance, the General Counsel in the Office of the Inspector General is to assume both roles. However, per that Office’s website, there is currently no one in that position. Again, per that ordinance, the Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety (listed as Tobara Richardson), will assume both roles.

If the mayor rejects the Selection Committee’s recommendation, the Selection Committee is to submit a new recommendation from that list of ten candidates, and the mayor has up to 14 days to either accept or reject. If again a rejection, the process continues with possibly the Selection Committee needing to have the national search firm provide a new list of 10 candidates. Hopefully, it will not come to that.

See 2-56-020 Inspector General – Qualifications, appointment and authority of Chicago's Municipal Code.